D.84 twitched and stirred. His brain was severely damaged, but he was not yet completely deactivated. The Doctor's Deactivator had rolled close to his hand. The Final Deactivator the Doctor had called it. Suddenly D.84 knew what he must do. With agonising slowness he began inching his hand towards the device.
From the corner of his eye, the Doctor saw what was happening. He began taunting Dask to distract his attention. 'I suppose you're one of those boring maniacs who needs to gloat? You're going to tell me your plans for running the universe?'
Dask put the probe to its lowest setting and switched it on. A low, sinister whining filled the room. 'No, Doctor, I'm just going to burn out your brain—very, very, slowly.'
He advanced towards the table.
Leela raised a foot ready to kick the panel free.
D.84 found that the Deactivator was just beyond his reach. He struggled to slide his paralysed body forward.
Dask leaned forward with the probe.
'Dask, Dask,' said the Doctor mockingly. 'You look ridiculous in that outfit. You're not half the robot your father was!'
The taunt struck home. It was the absence of any kind of parental love, the upbringing at the emotionless hands of robots, that had turned Dask's brain. He lunged forward with the probe, touching the Doctor's head for the merest fraction of a second. A glow sizzled round the Doctor's head for a moment, and the Doctor writhed in sudden agony. Slowly he recovered himself. 'Losing your calm, Dask? That's not the robot way. It was your verbal and physical precision that gave you away, you know. The robot upbringing, eh?'
'Yes, Doctor,' said Dask bitterly. 'I was brought up by robots. Brought up as a superior being. In time I grew to realise that my robot brothers should live as free beings rather than as slaves to worthless humans.'
Despite his situation, the Doctor looked at Dask with genuine pity. It was easy to see what had gone wrong. Deprived of any human affection, Dask had transferred his love to the robots around him, ending by identifying with them completely, taking their side against the human race.
'Dask,' said the Doctor sadly. 'Robots would have no reason for existence without people. Can't you see that?'
'No!' shouted Dask. 'I shall free them. I shall programme them with the ambition to rule the world...'
There was something strange about his voice.
D.84's hand closed on the Deactivator. From where he was lying, the robot could just see the Doctor. 'Goodbye, my friend,' whispered D.84. He pressed the firing stud.
There was a muffled thud, and D.84's head exploded. So did the head of V.6, standing over the Doctor. The robot crashed and fell beside D.84.
For a moment Dask was too shocked to move. Then he switched the probe to full and lunged at the Doctor. The Doctor dodged and grabbed for Dask's wrists, desperate to keep the probe away from his head.
Maddened with rage, Dask was almost as strong as one of his own robots, and the glowing probe came closer and closer...
Leela was heaving furiously against the panel. It refused to budge.
SV.7 strode into the room. 'Kill the humans. I must kill all the humans!'
Dask was still struggling with the Doctor for the probe. 'Help me, SV.7,' he shouted.
It had taken a long time, but the helium level in the room was high enough at last. Dask's voice came out as a high-pitched strangled squeak, like a record played too fast. The altered voice meant nothing to SV.7. 'I must kill all humans,' repeated the robot. It advanced on Dask.
Dask backed away. 'Not me, you fool. Kill the Doctor! I am' Taren Capel, your Controller—'
SV.7's hands cut off the strange squeaky voice, breaking Dask's neck and tossing him aside.
The robot turned—and saw Toos and Uvanov in the doorway. It advanced on these new enemies. 'Kill the humans!'
Uvanov circled, blaster-pack at the ready. But the robot's hands were reaching out—it would kill him before he could get close enough to clamp the pack to its body.
'Kill the humans! Kill the humans! Kill the humans!' chanted SV.7. With a sudden change of direction it lunged forward and seized Toos. She screamed—and the Doctor leaped forward, snatched up the fallen probe and plunged it into the back of the robot's head.
SV.7 let go of Toos and staggered back. The Doctor caught Toos before she could fall, and passed her to Uvanov. 'You'll be all right, Toos.'
SV.7 was still lurching about the workshop, its voice a steadily fading gabble. 'Kill the humans... Kill... Kill... Kill...' The voice faded, and the robot crashed to the ground.
The Doctor drew a deep breath. 'Well, all good things come to an end,' he said cheerfully.
From behind the wall a voice squeaked, 'Will someone let me out?'
The Doctor chuckled. 'Well, well, well, a mouse in the wainscotting. Well squeaked, mouse!'
He took out his sonic screwdriver and began to unscrew the wall-panel.
A short time later, Leela stood in the ore separation section watching the Doctor unlock the door of the TARDIS. 'Doctor, shouldn't we stay and make sure that Toos and Uvanov are all right?'
'No!' said the Doctor firmly. 'They've sent up their distress satellite, a rescue ship's on its way, and it's time we were on ours.' He threw open the TARDIS's door and waved Leela inside.
She paused in the doorway. 'Doctor, why didn't the helium make your voice squeaky?'
The Doctor smiled. 'Because I'm a Time Lord. I've been around, you know. Two hearts, a respiratory bypass system, and a larynx that will stand up to anything. I haven't lived seven hundred and fifty years without learning something. After you—mouse!'
Leela gave him a scornful look and stalked inside the TARDIS. The Doctor followed her, closing the door behind them.
With a wheezing, groaning sound, the blue box faded into nothingness.
The Doctor and Leela were on their way to new adventures.
Doctor Who and the Robots of Death Page 9